Barbara farms only seven hectares in Austria’s Kamptal, quietly making some of the most precise, angelic, energetic wines in the region.

Barbara is soft-spoken but intense, strongly opinionated, deeply passionate, playful and caring. 

Yes, she has great parcels in the Heiligenstein, Kamptal’s most historic and justly famous site (it’s a mix of various types of ancient primary and volcanic rock and often described as a geologic wonder), but ask her what her favorite site is and she’ll tell you it’s the Kogelberg, where her 65-year-old Riesling vines are a marvel. She won’t badmouth her fellow growers, but it’s also not lost on anyone that she is trying to do something very, very different.

Manual work is a big issue for Barbara. The vines are cared for entirely by hand – without the use of a tractor or heavy machinery. 

As a career changer (she was formerly in the media world), her motto is: “Bon Courage!”

If you plan a trip to her vineyard — if the weather is good, Barbara and her husband, the chef Karl Schwillinsky, will welcome you in their farm garden, surrounded by Heiligenstein, Kogelberg and Blauenstein, and serve you vintage sparkling wine and seasonal and regional dishes.